Murder-for-hire charge dismissed

A murder-for-hire charge filed against a Kalispell man has been dismissed because a recorded conversation between the man and his cellmate was indecipherable.

Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan tells The Daily Inter Lake that the judge also ruled prosecutors couldn't introduce evidence of prior conflicts between the man and his ex-wife.

Matthew Heuer was convicted of felony criminal endangerment in February for firing a gun at his neighbor. Prosecutors say four days later he offered his cellmate a pickup truck and cash to kill his ex-wife.

The cellmate wore a recording device during another conversation with Heuer, but Corrigan said Heuer's voice was difficult to understand even after the FBI tried to enhance the recording.

Corrigan says two officers listened to the conversation, but did not specifically hear Heuer say he wanted his ex-wife killed.